Articles About Missouri Labor and Employment Law.

On April 3, 2020, Missouri Governor Mike Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services issued a joint “Stay at Home” Order to protect the public and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 (the “Order”), which includes all of the exceptions set forth in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cyber-Security & Infrastructure Security Agency Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce (the “Guidance”). The Order is effective from April 6, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. through April 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m., unless extended by the Director. The Governor also issued Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, which can be found here.

On Friday, April 3, 2020, Governor Mike Parson directed Dr. Randall Williams, Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, to issue a statewide “Stay Home Missouri” Order (“Order”), which is effective April 4, 2020 through April 24, 2020. It is intended to directly reduce further spread of COVD-19 in the State of Missouri. Missouri employers most impacted by the Order include businesses without “essential worker functions” and all public retailers. Importantly, even the most stringent restrictions in the Order do not require any Missouri businesses to cease operations, but rather, merely follow enhanced social distancing guidelines. In many Missouri counties, the guidelines from local authorities will provide more restrictive requirements that must be followed.

On March 23, 2020, the Jefferson County Executive and the Jefferson County Health Department Director issued a joint “Stay at Home” Order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (the “Order”), with key components allowing residents to be able to perform a variety of tasks and permitting a wide variety of businesses to remain open. The Order includes a very extensive “Frequently Asked Questions” section in order to assist in interpretation.

Summary: In an effort to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, while recognizing that the government must not hinder the delivery of essential services nor the ability of the market place to provide essential goods and services, St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann issued a Stay at Home Order (the “Order”) which took effect March 24, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. The Order is one of the least restrictive Stay at Home or Shelter in Place orders recently issued by other cities, counties, and states. The Order recognizes that the economy is better protected when the public health impacts of a pandemic are minimized while simultaneously protecting the businesses the citizens require for services, health, nutrition and employment.

In an effort to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page has announced that as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 23, 2020, all non-essential businesses in St. Louis County, Missouri will be required to close through 11:59 p.m. on April 22, 2020. St. Louis City Mayor Lyda Krewson also announced a similar order that will be in effect from 6:00 p.m. on March 23, 2020, until April 22, 2020. These restrictions follow the earlier restrictions limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people.

On Saturday, March 21, 2020, Missouri government officials issued a series of new orders to address the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) for the State of Missouri, St. Louis County, and City of St. Louis. These measures include a “Social Distancing” order for the State of Missouri and “Stay at Home” orders aimed at St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. All three orders go into effect on Monday, March 23, 2020.

The City of St. Louis Board of Alderman unanimously passed “ban the box” legislation prohibiting employers in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, from basing job hiring or promotion decisions on applicants’ criminal histories. The Ordinance will take effect on January 1, 2021, for employers with at least 10 employees.

The City of St. Louis, Missouri enacted a ban-the-box ordinance prohibiting employers within the city from basing promotions or hiring decisions on an individual’s criminal history or a related sentence.1 The ordinance will take effect January 1, 2021. In the meantime, the Office of the License Collector (OLC) in the City of St. Louis is instructed to publicize that compliance with the ordinance will be a requirement for local businesses to obtain a business license.

Kansas City, Missouri joined the growing list of cities with salary history bans, aligning with a national trend that continues to gain momentum. On May 23, 2019, the city council passed Ordinance No. 190380—aimed to address the city’s reported 21.7% gender pay gap.1 The ordinance takes effect on October 31, 2019, and applies to any employer in Kansas City that employs six or more employees.2

While not recognizing discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity as being protected under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), the Missouri Supreme Court has issued two separate opinions that expand protection of LGBTQ individuals under the MHRA.

Executive Summary: On February 26, 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court extended legal protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in two separate cases—one dealing with employment rights and the other dealing with accessibility rights to public facilities by transgender students.

On Tuesday, Governor Mike Parson appointed State Representative Robert Cornejo to be chairman of the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Board. Cornejo, an attorney and Republican state representative from St. Peters, Missouri, will replace outgoing chairman John Larsen.

Missouri voters have rejected right-to-work. Senate Bill 19, which would have made Missouri the nation’s 28th right-to-work state, was passed by the Missouri legislature on February 2, 2017, and signed into law by then-Governor Eric Greitens. Labor organizations and their supporters gathered enough signatures to keep the law from going into effect until voters in Missouri had an opportunity to weigh in.

On February 1, 2018, the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed restrictions on employers’ inquiries into, and use of, criminal record information. The ordinance becomes effective on June 9, 2018. The City had already removed the criminal history question from employment applications for government positions in 2014. Similar to the Missouri Human Rights Act, the ordinance applies to private employers with six or more employees.

In Lampley, et al. v. Missouri Commission on Human Rights,1 the Missouri Court of Appeals held that sex stereotyping can form the basis of a sex discrimination claim when the complaining party is gay, but should not be construed as a claim for sexual orientation discrimination.2 The latter cause of action is not a cognizable claim under the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). Further, a complaining party’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to the claim of discrimination based upon sex stereotyping.